Image by getty images

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu tried to convince the owner of a popular news site to run a negative story about the wife of a political rival, according to a television report.

Israel Television News reported that the prime minister called on Shaul Elovitch — at the time the owner of Walla News — to run a report stating that Gilat Bennett, the wife of Education Minister and Jewish Home faction leader Naftali Bennett, once worked as a chef in a non-kosher restaurant. The report, about events said to have happened in 2002, was never published.

The police have previously recommended that Netanyahu be indicted for allegedly offering Elovitch favors in exchange for better coverage. Earlier this week they again recommended his indictment in a separate case in which he stands accused of offering a similar quid pro quo to the owner of the Yediot Aharonot daily newspaper.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Bennett described the prime minister’s alleged attempt to tar his wife as as “despicable and cowardly act.” In turn, the Likud Party accused the prominent national-religious politician of hypocrisy and of slandering first lady Sara Netanyahu.

Netanyahu has previously complained about press coverage of his own family. Earlier this year Sara Netanyahu was indicted for allegedly using $100,000 in state funds to order takeout from high-end restaurants despite employing a cook at government expense. Police have recommended she be indicted in the Elovitch case as well.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount